by Melinda Glazer

After years of focusing policy discussions on the pending reauthorization of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the Information Technology and Communications (ITC) Steering Committee recently reviewed three timely, close-to-home technology issues that have an impact on municipalities.

The committee met Sept. 14-16 in Tukwila, Wash., with ITC Vice Chair Jim Haggerton, Tukwila councilmember, as the host.

First on the committee?s agenda was the technological aspect of federal voting reforms. Douglas M. Chapin, executive director of Electionline.org, guided the committee as it began to determine NLC?s potential role in assisting local officials to understand the impact of federal election reform on cities. The full ITC Policy and Advocacy Committee will revisit this issue on Dec. 6 when it meets at the Congress of Cities and Exposition in Reno, Nev.

Second, Eric Anderson, city manager of Tacoma, Wash., spoke to the members about the importance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at the local, state and federal levels. According to the United States General Services Administration, geographic information touches every aspect of life from planning the delivery of health services to recycling contaminated land.

Spatial data and information mapping allow for an endless variety of uses, including management of epidemics, coastal zone and flooding defense, and better monitoring of global warming, pollution control and land use.

Lastly, the committee discussed media violence and its impact on children. The steering committee expressed great concern over the issue, but concluded that there was not a role for the ITC committee in regard to federal policy or regulation. The committee suggested that NLC could assist cities in other educational ways and the issue will be revisited by NLC staff.

The steering committee will bring its recommendations to the ITC Policy and Advocacy Committee meeting at the Congress of Cities.